Sitting on a goldmine?

Bernardston seeks bids on antique chairs

Submitted photoBernardston seeks bids on more than 170 antique folding wooden chairs. Pictured is one of about 90 double-wide chairs made by Vermont's Readsboro Chair Co. available as one of four lots.

Submitted photoBernardston seeks bids for more than 170 antique folding wooden chairs, in four separate lots. Pictured is a chair from the E.H. Mahoney Chair Co. of Gardner, the only one in the collection.

BERNARDSTON — More than 170 antique chairs have been collecting dust and taking up space in Bernardston town buildings and the town hopes it can find someone who will appreciate them.

The town wouldn’t mind making a few bucks in the process of cleaning house. So, selectmen decided to put them out for bid.

“Why not see if antique or secondhand furniture buyers would be interested in buying them?” wondered Selectman Virginia Budness.

The folding wooden chairs come in five styles, and are divided into four bidding lots. People are invited to submit bids for one or all of the lots.

“The double-seated chairs were made by the Vermont Readsboro Chair Co., while the single folding chairs are all pre-Depression era,” said Town Coordinator Hugh Campbell.

Campbell researched the chairs, and found that most were produced in the 1920s and 1930s, and a few were designed in the late 1800s.

Lot 1 consists of 51 J.V. Young single folding chairs, patented in 1927 and 1930. Lot 2 is much smaller, containing three folding chairs patented in 1893, and one undated chair from E.H. Mahoney Chair Co. of Gardner. Lot 3 is a collection of 31 unidentified single folding chairs.

You could furnish a small theater with lot four. The approximately 90 double folding chairs from Readsboro Chair Co. would be enough to seat about 180.

The chairs may be old, but Campbell said the majority are in good condition.

“These chairs were made when things were made to last,” said Selectman Robert Raymond.

You can see them for yourself before submitting a bid.

Samples from each lot are available for viewing from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at Town Hall, 38 Church St.

Bids are due at 2 p.m. Dec. 3. They must include your name, signature and contact information, which lots you’re bidding on and the amount bid for each. Bids must be accompanied by a separate cashier’s or certified check for each lot bid.